Gibson Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar with Case

The Gibson Les Paul Custom, introduced in 1954, has been affectionately nicknamed the Black Beauty and the Fretless Wonder. By any name, the Gibson Les Paul Custom has always represented the highest level of elegance and beauty in the Les Paul family.

490R Humbucker on the Gibson Les Paul Custom
This "Modern Classic" pickup features tonal characteristics similar to the '57 Classic, but deliver a slight increase in the upper mids, for a more contemporary humbucking sound. The special Alnico II magnet gives these beauties a singing quality that delivers on demand.

498T Humbucker on the Gibson Les Paul Custom
Put a slightly hotter Alnico V magnet into a specially wound coil combination, and you get the 498T "Hot Alnico." With its higher output and emphasis on mid-ranges and highs, the 498T is the perfect rock pickup.

"Here is the ultimate in a solid body guitar...The Incomparable Les Paul Custom Guitar," — Gibson catalog, circa mid-1950s

Today's Gibson Les Paul Custom is based on the model from the mid-1950s, but with several modern appointments. The body is crafted with a hand-carved maple top, which is fitted to a body made from a solid piece of mahogany with strategically routed holes to lessen the weight of the guitar, resulting in a Les Paul with enhanced acoustic qualities and improved resonance. The 24 3/4-inch scale length neck is also made from one solid piece of mahogany then topped by a 22-fret ebony fingerboard outfitted with pearl block inlays and given Gibson's traditional rounded profile. The Gibson Les Paul Custom's pickups are Gibson's 490R in the neck position, which offers the tonal characteristics of the original PAFs, and the 498T in the bridge position, which swaps the 490R's Alnico II magnet for an Alnico V, thus making it slightly hotter with emphasis on mid-ranges and highs. Other appointments include Gibson’s legendary Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, metal tulip tuners, multi-ply white and black binding on both the top and back, gold hardware and a 1 11/16" nut width.

History of the Gibson Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar

The introduction of the Les Paul Model in 1952 provided the fundamental template for the design of what would eventually become the most revered stringed instrument in the world. Yet Gibson president Ted McCarty and the guitar's namesake, Les Paul, also sought to introduce a "deluxe" version of the soon-to-be iconic model. The final design for the new Gibson Les Paul Custom was completed in early 1954, and the guitar made its official debut at the Chicago NAMM show in July 1954.

Initially, the goal of the Gibson Les Paul Custom had been to introduce the "deluxe" version in conjunction with the original 1952 Les Paul, yet Gibson's drive to achieve excellence resulted in several unexpected delays. The final Gibson Les Paul Custom, however, would eventually become Gibson's top model in the original Les Paul line.

The Gibson Les Paul Custom is the 'Fretless Wonder'

The first version of the Gibson Les Paul Custom was nicknamed the "Fretless Wonder" for its low frets and "Black Beauty" for its rich, contrasting ebony color. The Gibson Les Paul Custom represented the ultimate in Gibson solid body design at the time, with an original price tag of just $325, which was $100 more than the regular Les Paul Model.

Aside from its obvious visual enhancements, the Gibson Les Paul Custom was the first Gibson guitar to offer the revolutionary ABR-1 Bridge, which was invented by McCarty. This pioneering achievement was a true revelation in intonation and remains one of the most revered and copied pieces of guitar hardware ever developed, setting the Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered.

Other standard appointments included a thicker body design and seven-ply body binding on both the front and back of the guitar, along with a multi-bound headstock that featured a prominent five-piece split diamond patterned inlay of genuine mother of pearl – a design that still graces every Gibson Les Paul Custom made today.

Same Day Music is an authorized dealer of Gibson products.

Body: Carved Maple top, Mahogany back

Neck/Profile: Mahogany/'59 Rounded Les Paul

Fingerboard: Richlite 22 frets

Inlay: Pearl block

Scale: 24-3/4 in.

Nut Width: 1-11/16 in.

Binding: Multi-ply top, back, and headstock, single-ply fingerboard

Bridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic/Stop bar

Hardware: Gold

Pickups:
490R Alnico magnet humbucker
498T Alnico magnet humbucker

Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch

Strings: Les Paul Signature .009-.046

Same Day Music is an authorized dealer of Gibson products.

Shipping Weights and Dimensions

Alpine White

Shipping Weight: 21 lbs

Shipping Dimensions: 44 x 18 x 7 in

Ebony

Shipping Weight: 21 lbs

Shipping Dimensions: 44 x 18 x 7 in

Heritage Cherry Sunburst

Shipping Weight: 23 lbs

Shipping Dimensions: 44 x 18 x 7 in

Silverburst

Shipping Weight: 23 lbs

Shipping Dimensions: 44 x 17 x 7 in

Wine Red

Shipping Weight: 28 lbs

Shipping Dimensions: 45 x 18 x 7 in

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